philosophy exam 4 Flashcards
What makes something a person or a self?
A person or self is typically considered to have consciousness, identity over time, and certain psychological or physical attributes.
What is the problem of personal identity over time?
It concerns what makes a person at one time the same person as they are at another time, despite changes.
What makes up a person’s character?
Character consists of the psychological traits,memories, and behaviors that shape how a person is identified over time.
What is the Soul Theory?
The Soul Theory suggests that personal identity is based on the continued existence of the same soul over time.
What is the Psychological theory of Personal Identity?
The Psychological Theory posits that identity is based on psychological continuity, such as memory, thoughts, and personality over time.
What is the Physical theory of Personal Identity
The Physical Theory holds that identity is based on the continuity of the same body or brain over time.
What is Locke’s argument for the memory theory?
Locke argues that if person A wake up in the prince’s body and remembers the life of the cobbler, they are the same person as the cobbler.
What if Reid’s challenge to Locke’s memory theory?
Reid points out that memory alone doesn’t ensure personal identity, citing cases like a boy becoming an officer and then a general.
What is the Psychological Continuity Theory?
This theory suggests that personal identity is not based on a direct memory connection but rather on overlapping chains of psychological continuity.
What is Williams’s Case 1 (ET Process)?
In this case, two people’s mental content is swapped through an extraction/transfer process. The person with B’s body and A’s mental content should choose who gets the 1,000,000, according to common intuition.
What is Williams’s Case 2 (ET Process)?
Here, a person’s memory is wiped before torture, and their mental content is replaced. Despite the memory wipe, people still fear the torture, suggesting a conflict in intuition.
What does Williams conclude about these cases?
Williams concludes that our intuitions about personal identity are inconsistent and unreliable insuch cases.
What is the Buddhist “no-self” doctrine?
Buddhism teaches that there is no permanent, unchanging self (anatta), and the belief in a permanent self is a cause of suffering.
How does the “no-self” view fit with reincarnation?
The Buddhist view suggests that there is no permanent self passing between lives, but rather a causal continuity from one life to the next.
What is the Chariot analogy?
The chariot analogy suggests that a self is like a chariot a collection of parts or processes, but not a thing beyond those parts.
What is gradual uploading?
Gradual uploading involves replacing neurons with nanobots over time, preserving continuity without instant replacement
What is non- gradual uploading?
Non- gradual uploading involves an instantaneous replacement of the brain, leading to questionsabout whether the person still exists afterward.
How does the Bhavith case challenge the physical-continuity theory?
The Bhavith case shows that if an android is created based on his brain scan but the original Bhavith remains intact, personal identity doesn’t depend on physical continuity.
What does Parfit conclude about identity in uploading scenarios?
Parfit concludes that identity doesn’t matter as much as psychological continuity or the preservation of relevant characteristics in future persons.
What is the split-brain procedure?
The split-brain procedure involves serving the corpus callosum, leading to two hemispheres of the brain functioning independently.
What is the Unity Puzzle?
The Unity Puzzle asks how we can say a split-brain patient is a single person when each hemisphere has distinct thoughts and experiences.
How do Bayne, Nagel, and Schechter solve the unity puzzle?
Bayne: Suggests the consciousness switches a quickly between the two hemispheres.
Nagel: Argues the number of minds in a split- brain patient is indeterminate.
Schechter: Suggests there are two minds, but the self- consciousness is unified
What is the narrative theory of self- identity?
The narrative theory holds that self- identity is formed by a continuous personal story or narrative, constructed by the individual.
How does the case of Mr. Oreo challenge the narrative theory?
Mr. Oreo, who identifies as white despite his pysical traits, shows with external perceptions and soical identity.
